BE THE NEW CROW, USE THE STRAW: IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR STARTUP

The times are difficult. Boy, is the competition getting tougher or what! Let’s take the famous crow for an example- gone are the days when the crow toiled and sweated to collect pebbles to drink water from the pitcher. Do you think they still do that? Guess what, even the crows act smart now and they’re more creative- perhaps, use the straw instead to quench the thirst? Maybe?

The same rule holds true for your start-up. So, are you still clinging to the age-old methods of doing business? Let’s see, hell lot of paperwork, no automation or digitalization of your business processes? Well, one thing is for certain, the more your business sticks to the outdated and unproductive solutions, deeper it’s gonna sink. When we say ‘suffer’ we mean ‘Loss’! A proactive upgrade will save your start-up a lot of money, time and resources. So, it’s about time you get your skates on! Take a leap of faith. Be the new crow; use the straw! It’s time to upgrade your start-up. How? Read on to get your answers.

Go Paperless

Your start-up is wasting a lot of money and time to move files and documents around. Say no to paper and digitalize your business. If not to save paper but because digital documents are convenient to store, simpler and easier to send, and more dynamic than loads of paperwork. Digital documents can be indexed faster than paper. Then why not store all your company’s documents in a single folder instead of keeping them in a room full of shelves? Digital storage also makes disaster recovery easier than with paper. It also leads to cost reduction in terms of postage, printing, and even rent as you would not require a full room to store files.

Switch to Online Applications

Do you need to send large files often? If so, you could be taxing your computer’s storage as well as the inboxes of your recipients. Move to cloud-based applications or tools such as Dropbox and Google Drive to help you store, access and share all your documents with customers, clients and suppliers. Some of the cloud-based applications worth considering are Dropbox to share files, Basecamp and Active Collab for easy project management, PayPal to transfer funds and Evernote for taking digital notes.

Give Your Old Website a Facelift

When did you redesign your website last? Long time back, isn’t it? Diamonds may be forever, but not your website. You need a digital marketing platform that should be professionally designed to promote your products/services, is easily navigable and meets the needs of your clients or customers. Based on a study by the Stanford University, 75 percent of the people judge a company’s trustworthiness based on the look, design and layout of its website. Get it now?

Embrace Responsive Design

Buyers, customers or shoppers now access information on their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Responsive design upgrade will let your website adapt to various mobile platforms, letting visitors and prospects access and connect with your website’s content.

Choose WordPress

An effective content management system (CMS) such as WordPress makes your website user-friendly. You also get several plug-ins to personalize your WordPress site to maximize your design and aesthetic needs. Time to migrate to WordPress.

Go Social

Social networking will help you find new customers, suppliers, key partners and even employees on the web. Make your startup visible on social platforms such as Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, and Twitter. Chat up with your target audience and connect with them. There ain’t a better place to engage with your customers for free!

Inventory Management and Automating Your Business Processes

Keeping track of your inventory is important if you have more than one business location. Upgrading to inventory management software is the way to go if you would like to get details regarding shipping quotes or track customer history.

When you have an automated workflow, you create an owner for each phase of the process. This increases accountability and encourages productivity. An up-to-the-minute workflow management system will help you know who is more efficient and who needs assistance to handle workload.

High time that you upgrade and streamline your business to save money and time, ain’t it? Wondering where to start from? Let us help you. Contact us here or drop us a word at info@codeuridea.com and we’ll get back to you.

Anjan Chatterjee

Senior Start-up Researcher

A passionate follower of start-up trends and an obssessive 'Game of Throne' fan, Anjan is the man we go for Start-up trends and tips.

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